This is an assignment that I recently gave to my ESL students. I used it for a Reading/Writing class in hopes of drawing their interest toward art as a subject of discussion. I actually got the idea for this lesson from the Learning Network section of the New York Times website which has a number of activities for secondary level students. Although many of the lessons featured on the site might be too advanced for English language learners, some can be adapted for language instruction. This website can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/index.html
Art Discussion Lesson Plan
Objective: The purpose of this lesson is to engage students in both discussion and writing using visual aids. This lesson can be used for writing/speaking practice as well as vocabulary development. The important thing is to keep the students engaged by giving them clear objectives as well as using questioning strategies. |
Skills Used: Vocabulary Development, Writing Composition, Oral English |
Age Range of Students: This lesson plan can be adapted to meet the needs of a variety of different age ranges. However, this lesson would be best employed in a secondary level classroom (grades 7-12) as this lesson requires a higher level analytic ability. |
Student Ability Level: Intermediate to Advanced |
Timeframe: The time needed to complete this assignment will vary between one class and another. I recently used this lesson in my classroom during a 90 minute block period and found that some aspects of this class activity needed to be tailored in the interest of time. A minimum of 60 minutes will be needed for this lesson. |
Materials Needed: This assignment could be presented to a classroom full of students in a variety of ways. However, using technology resources would probably be the easiest way to handle the requirements of organizing this classroom activity. I used an LCD projector attached to a classroom computer to show students the artwork. The presentation itself was created using Microsoft PowerPoint, allowing me to easily navigate from one slide to another. If these resources are not available to you, you could easily use computer print-outs of examples of artwork and attach them to pasteboard.
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· Step 1: Provide your students with a vocabulary list before showing them the sample paintings. Using visual aids in this lesson supplies students with a context for employing the words below in both writing and discussion. The words below will appear on the assignment worksheet without the definitions:
- Aggressive Abstract Solemn Realistic Expressive Wild
- Bright Warm Dark Serious Chaotic Disturbing Historical
- Modern Classic
· Step 2: Show your students the first slide. The painting I used for the first example was "Prisoners from the Front" by Winslow Homer. It's important to not to provide any information about the meaning, context, or purpose behind the painting as the main goal is to motivate students to think about what they are seeing. If the class size is manageable (and the students mature) they can be invited to leave their seats and come to the front of the room to have a closer look at the painting.
· Step 3: Ask your students to answer the following questions in the form of a paragraph that addresses each topic.
1. What do you see?
2. What is happening in this picture?
3. Who are the characters in this painting?
4. Describe the style of this painting?
5. Do you like this painting? Why?
6. What feeling do you get from looking at this painting?
· Step 4: Show your students the second sample painting and ask them the same questions in Step 2. They will again be required to write down their reactions in the form of a paragraph. When appropriate, remind students to use the words from the vocabulary list to help them clarify their ideas. The painting below is a work titled "The Studio" by Winslow Homer. Again, it might be helpful to invite students to the front of the room to have a closer look at the painting.
1. What do you see?
2. What is happening in this picture?
3. Who are the characters in this painting?
4. Describe the style of this painting?
5. Do you like this painting? Why?
6. What feeling do you get from looking at this painting?
· Step 5: Show the two paintings above side-by-side and point out (if they have not noticed already) that both works were completed by the same artist.
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At this point, commence a verbal discussion that compares the merits of both works of art. Ask students how these two works differ from one another in terms of style, color, feeling, and meaning. Having background knowledge of both the artist and these two paintings would be useful to help explain the context of these two works. For instance, "Prisoners from the Front" is a scene from the American Civil War and depicts an incident in which 4 Confederate officers were taken prisoner by the Union Army. "The Studio", however, was painted several years after "Prisoners from the Front" and is a simple depiction of musicians plying their craft in a dimly-lit rehearsal space.
- Step 6: Now that you have engaged your students in both writing and discussion, you may want to have them complete a thematic comparison of two works of art. If time permits, show your students "Prisoners from the Front" alongside "War" by Jackson Pollock. Both works of art concern the same subject (war) and can be used to test your students' ability to perceive both the differences and similarities in style, composition, and meaning between the two paintings. However, don't draw attention to the fact that both works concern the same topic. Instead, ask them to consider the questions below and write a paragraph on their worksheet.
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1. How are these two works of art similar to one another?
2. What differences in style and color do you see in these two paintings?
3. Which painting do you like more? Please explain why.
l Step 7: After the students have finished their written work, engage them in a discussion that highlights the differences and similarities between the two paintings. At the end of the lesson, be sure to provide your students with background information for both paintings. By this time they will be curious as to who the artists were and why they created these works of art.
Timeframe Details:
Write Paragraph for first slide. |
10 Minutes |
Discussion |
5 Minutes |
Write Paragraph for second slide. |
10 Minutes |
Discussion |
5 Minutes |
Write Paragraph for first comparison |
10 Minutes |
Discussion |
5 Minutes |
Write Paragraph for second comparison |
10 Minutes |
Discussion |
5 Minutes |
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